Sustainable Farming Incentive 2024 scheme details and voluntary guidance in England published
Updated Sustainable Farming Incentive (SFI) 2024 scheme information and guidance for England was published this week (5 August), with some key changes to note.
It comes after the new Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) Minister Daniel Zeichner MP reiterated the Labour Government's full commitment to the environmental land management schemes. Read the Minister's full speech on the GOV.UK website.
The expanded SFI offer initially comprises 102 actions with payments now available for precision farming, no-till practices, agroforestry, a new and expanded offer for upland farmers and more actions for tenants on short-term contracts.
Notable changes
It would appear that very few changes have been made to the draft text of actions published in May 2024, on which AIC briefed its Members.
However, one change to CNUM3: Legume Fallow – now having been returned to its original rotational status, as opposed to the static choice stated in the details published this May – is something for AIC Members to be aware of.
Other changes to scheme actions' details can be found in full on the "Find funding for land or farms" page of GOV.UK and appear to mainly relate to including voluntary guidance to assist in successfully implementing the actions.
Controlled rollout
The controlled rollout of the scheme is still in place and farmers who want to apply are to continue to contact the Rural Payments Agency to express their interest before they are invited to make an application.
It is expected that the time between making an expression of interest and being invited to apply will quicken in the coming weeks with Defra reporting that the first agreements under the new scheme are now live.
Capital items
Defra has also added eight new capital items to the existing capital offer – these new items focus on funding to support buying trees for an in-field agroforestry system, or to create a moorland mapping plan to help manage environmental features on moorland.
For more on Defra's Farming and Countryside Programme, visit AIC's dedicated webpages.
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